Julian Carranza Fueling Philadelphia Union’s Winning Streak

The Philadelphia Union finally seem to have hit their stride. They have 6 wins and just 1 tie in MLS play since the start of May. The Union are outscoring their opponents 13-2 in that same time. There was one game where they lost to LAFC in early May. But it was in Concacaf, so it doesn't actually count toward their MLS record. And since that game, they have been nearly flawless. And one of the big reasons behind this turnaround is the play of Julian Caranaza.

In that stretch of 7 games, Carranza has 6 goals and 1 assist. He has two games with at least 2 goals. This a notable change from his 3 goals and 2 assists in his 8 games before this stretch. Julian Carranza is on fire.

Even on defense, he is playing at a high level. 4 interceptions by him in those 7 games. That is compared to just 1 in his 8 MLS games before May.

Julian Carranza was a big part of why this Union team was so dominant last year. His 14 goals were 2nd on the team behind Daniel Gazdag. But he got off to a slow start, like many of his Union teammates. Now? He has rocketed himself into being the teams leading goal scorer. Despite the fact he entered May behind both Gazdag and Mikael Uhre. And those guys have not slowed down, Carranza just heated up.

The Union are going to need Julian Carranza to be this type of player if they want to get back to the promised land. And the good news is, he is heating up. Carranza is playing out of his mind right now.

At 23 we are seeing him turn into a star in front of our eyes. He is now tied for 2nd in goals in the MLS. Only Denis Bouanga and Hany Mukhtar have more than him with 10. 3 other guys share 2nd place with him at 9 goals. But if he keeps this recent pace up, he may lead the league in goals very soon.

On paper, we should be in a very good period of Philadelphia sports. There is seemingly more talent than ever across most of the teams, Flyers excluded. The Eagles? Stacked. The Phillies? Stacked. The Sixers? Well, we don't really know what to think about them anymore. The Phillies came out of the gate slow, but have turned it around. The Sixers just had their 5th second round exit. The Flyers are a joke. But the Eagles, even if they lost the Super Bowl, still give us a lot of hope.

There are 3 guys in Philadelphia who have either won their league's MVP or who have been in that conversation at least. Joel Embiid and Bryce Harper won it. Jalen Hurts was in the running before his late-season injury. Trea Turner is bad this year but has played at an MVP level in the past. And around those guys, are a lot of other guys with either star-level talent or at least that potential for it.

Philadelphia athletes have the star talent now, apart from the Flyers. Even the Union has star talent. But it has not led to hardware. Some of those stars have come up small. Others played great, and their team just came up short around them. We have now seen the Eagles, Phillies, Sixers, and Union all come up short when it matters. Eagles Phillies and Union in their championship game. And the Sixers didn't even make it that far. Despite the Talent, none of them have given us a parade, yet.

So which stars have earned our trust? Which ones still have to prove themselves when it matters most? Let's look at all the Star talent we have in Philly, and if they have lived up to that billing so far.

Jalen Hurts has not won it yet. But to no fault of his own. Jalen Hurts gave us one of the best performances from a QB on the losing team ever. Every time they needed a response, Jalen Hurts provided it. Yes, his fumble led to a TD. And sure if you took that away the Eagles technically would have won. But what that ignores is that he made up for that on the very next drive. And then multiple more times after that. With the Eagles trailing by 8 late in the game, Hurts took them down the field, scored the TD, and the 2pt conversion to tie it up.

He never got a chance to win it because the defense couldn't get off the field. But if he got the ball back in time, given how he was playing, there is a decent chance he would have gotten it done. Hurts went toe to toe with Patrick  Mahomes and looked like he belonged on the same field as him. Hurts had a lot to prove going into last season. But he proved it.

There is a lot good to say about Joel Embiid. In terms of talent, you could argue he is one of the most talented guys to every play in Philly period, let alone just the Sixers. 3 straight seasons as an MVP finalist, and he won it this year. And before the Celtics series, many would have said he was the Philly athlete they trusted the most. But there is no ignoring what happened this season. When the lights shined the brightest, he could not live up to the lofty expectations.

15 points in an elimination game. The biggest dropoff in scoring in the playoffs by an MVP ever. He let his team drop 2 straight games after they led 3-2. It was unacceptable. Enough with the excuses. Joel Embiid needs to step up and get the job done the next time he gets the chance. Until then it will be hard to forget how badly he played when it mattered most.

We dont have to wonder what Bryce Harper will do when the lights come on. Because even if the Phillies came up small in the World Series, he gave us a playoff run for the ages last season. His line in the playoffs last year was .349/.414/.746/1.160. He hit 6 home runs and 7 doubles. Drove in 13 RBIs. And of course, his biggest moment came in game 5 of the NLCS. The Phillies had blown the lead. They trailed in the bottom of the 8th. Then Bryce Harper had the swing of his life, as Joe Davis put it.

And he was struggling going into the playoffs. He was ice cold. Ever since he came back from an injury, he had a hard time finding his rhythm. That changed in the playoffs. It started with an HR in game 2 vs the Cardinals. Then he never slowed down from there.

Carter Hart was supposed to be the next great Flyers goalie. And so far, he has kind of lived up to it. Hart has played well, considering everything else around him. The defense in front of him in his young career has been putrid. Hell, the whole team has been. This is not a, he has not done well enough thing. But more of he has never had a chance to live up to the hype. He looked decent in his one taste of the playoffs. Had a save percentage of .926 in 14 games.

Hopefully, soon enough he will get more of a chance. Ideally, Keith Jones and Danny Briere will finally build a good team around him, and give him a chance to grow into the guy promised as a generational goalie. We need to see it before we say he has proven anything though. We have seen goalies carry their teams in the playoffs. Can Hart do that? We don't know yet.

The former Cy Young candidate has a lot to prove. Because as of now, it is hard to trust him. Every season he fell apart in September. He waited until October last season. Nola was awful in the World Series. Both of his starts were a major disappointment. Especially Game 5 with the season on the line. His ERA in his two World Series starts was 8.64.

To make it worse, he has had a very uneven start this season. Nola has to be paid after this season. As of now, he has not done a thing to justify giving him star pitcher money. We see the stuff at times. Its clear he is capable of being that guy. But until he proves it, it is impossible to trust him.

Yea, this guy has nothing left to prove. Kelce hasn't given up a sack in years. He gave up none in either of the two Super Bowls he played in. Last year's All-Pro selection was the 5th of his career. He will walk into the Hall of Fame one day. This is probably his last year. Once his career is over, we may look back at him as one of the greatest Eagles of all time.

Going into the World Series last season, Wheeler felt like the sure thing. But now? It's a bit questionable. He was not as bad as Nola in the World Series. It would be hard to be worse. But his 5.23 ERA was still bad. His first start was a blowup. The 2nd start was better, but he couldn't get through 5 innings. Not good enough from an Ace. To make it worse, he has been a bit shaky this season, even if he has turned things around recently.

We all love Slay. Him coming back, is a good thing. Between him and James Bradberry, they were one of the best, if not the best, cornerback tandem in the league. But the defense is a big reason why they lost the Super Bowl. In fact, it is the reason they lost. And Slay was getting picked on a little bit. You could say the same about James Bradberry, but Slay is the one who is the team leader and the most recognizable face on the defense. The defense needs to be better next time. Starting with him.

Pretty much everything said about Jason Kelce, applies to Lane too. He has fewer All-Pros. But lately, he has maybe been even better. In the playoffs, he faces Nick Bosa and Chris Jones at times. He still gave up no sacks. That was while playing on an injury many thought would keep him out. He is the best Tackle in the NFL, and played like it in the big moments. Like Jason Kelce, he will be a Hall of Famer one day. And in both Super Bowls, he played at an elite level.

Okay, Ranger is not a star. But I felt the need to shout him out here. Ranger was great in the playoffs. A 1.23 ERA in the playoffs. He battled in those starts. Got himself out of some tough jams. Got the Phillies a couple of wins. he closed out the NLCS clinching game. Where the Phillies' two aces came up short, he buckled down. Ranger is not a star, but he pitched like one. His July has been a bit shaky. But in July he looked like one of the best pitchers in the league.

Maxey is still young, so he deserves a bit of a break. We have seen him show star potential in the playoffs in the past. But we have also seen him disappear in games too often. Maxey looked great in games 5 and 6. But was a non factor in games 2, 3, and 4. Embiid and Harden rightfully took most of the heat for the Playoff collapse.

Going forward, Maxey needs to be more reliable. It doesn't need to be a 30pt night like in game 5. But can he average 20 pts a game in the playoffs like he does in the regular season? They are going to need him to. The excuses that he is young and inexperienced won't fly past this season. With a larger role likely coming for him, he needs to step into it if the Sixers are going to fix this.

No one can say AJ Brown did not do his part in the Super Bowl. 6 catches, 86 yards, and TD. And that one TD was an impressive one. 45 yards, in double coverage, and he tracks down the ball to put the Eagles up 14-7. If the Eagles get back there, we wont need to worry about if he will step up in the moment. The lights were not too bright for AJ Brown.

The same goes for the Eagles other WR 1. Devonta Smith played just as well as AJ Brown did in the Super Bowl. 7 catches for 100 yards. No TDS, but he still made quite the impact. We have seen time after time Devonta Smith come down with circus catches. He is a star in the making. He could be the best WR on several teams. Here he is the 2nd best, but only because he is playing alongside a All-Pro in AJ Brown.

Trea Turner is certainly a star. He has been the best SS in the MLB at times. But he has yet to really prove he can be the guy when it counts here, or elsewhere. His first season here has been a disaster so far. it looked like things were turning around in June. But in July he went right back to swinging at every pitch out of the zone. To make it worse he is even hurting them in the field. They need him to be a star. So far, he hasn't even been good.

(Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)